Special receptacle or package – For ampule – capsule – pellet – or granule – Compartmented
Patent
1995-03-27
1996-10-01
Gehman, Bryon P.
Special receptacle or package
For ampule, capsule, pellet, or granule
Compartmented
206471, 206529, 206530, B65D 8304, B65D 8542
Patent
active
055604900
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to packaging for medicaments, in particular to packaging for pre-pierced capsules of inhalation medicaments.
The administration of inhalation medicaments in both liquid and dry powder forms are well known. Powdered inhalation medicament is often supplied in capsules which may be dispensed using e.g. the device known as the SPINHALER.TM.. This device comprises a housing which retains an individual capsule of medicament, the capsule is pierced in situ thus releasing the medicament for inhalation. Such devices have the disadvantage that small fragments of the capsule may be produced during the piercing process which could be inhaled by the patient.
Pre-pierced medicament capsules, i.e. capsules the walls of which are provided with one or more apertures during manufacture, are known. However, during storage such capsules may leak medicament through the apertures and hygroscopic medicaments may take up water due to ingress of moisture into the capsules.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,221 describes a conventional blister-pack which has a childproof polymeric backing sheet, such a pack would be totally unsuitable for pre-pierced capsules since it does not have sealing means for the capsule apertures.
European Patent Application 0385156 (Phidea Srl) discloses a method of avoiding the problems associated with packaging pre-pierced capsules by providing a disposable inhaler containing a single pre-pierced capsule. However, this device suffers from the drawback that it may be necessary to carry several separate devices in order to provide a day's supply of medicament. It is also wasteful, since the device cannot be refilled and is thus discarded after only one use.
We have now devised an improved form of packaging for pre-pierced medicament capsules which is both effective and economical and which overcomes or substantially mitigates the problems described above.
According to the present invention, there is provided a medicament pack comprising a base member having a plurality of blisters formed therein, each blister accommodating a medicament containing capsule, each capsule being provided with at least one aperture to permit medicament to be dispensed therefrom, characterised in that the base number comprises sealing means adapted to seal the apertures.
The medicament pack according to the invention may be adapted to accommodate any practicable number of capsules, for example, enough to provide a day's, e.g. 4 doses, or a week's, e.g. 28 doses, supply of medicament for a patient.
The medicament packs according to the invention may be made by conventional techniques known for the formation of blister-packs. The base member may be made by thermoforming, e.g. by pressure forming or vacuum-drawing a heat-softened sheet of thermoplastic resin into a contoured mould. Once the base member has been cooled and removed from the mould, the medicament capsules may then be inserted into the blisters, e.g. mechanically or manually.
Conventional blister-packaging materials may be used to form the packaging according to the invention, e.g. polyvinyl chloride (PVC), PVC/polyethylene combinations, polystyrene and polypropylene. For improved moisture protection polyvinylidene chloride or polychlorotrifluoroethylene films may be laminated to PVC.
The sealing means provided in the base member are designed to prevent loss of medicament through the capsule apertures and also to minimise the ingress of moisture into the capsules. We prefer the sealing means to be formed in the walls of the blisters. When the sealing means are formed in the walls of the blisters they may be produced during the moulding of the base member as deseribed above.
The sealing means preferably comprise sealing surfaces adapted to seal the aperture containing portions of the capsules. Each sealing surface preferably has a profile which corresponds to the profile of the aperture containing portion of the capsule it is adapted to seal. For example, when the medicament capsule is cylindrical and has an aperture at formed at one or both ends, each sealing s
REFERENCES:
patent: 3054503 (1962-09-01), Hartman, Jr. et al.
patent: 3380578 (1968-04-01), Sparks
patent: 3809221 (1974-05-01), Compere
patent: 4161516 (1979-07-01), Bell
patent: 4371080 (1983-02-01), Haines
Fisons plc
Gehman Bryon P.
LandOfFree
Pharmaceutical packaging with capsule sealing means does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Pharmaceutical packaging with capsule sealing means, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Pharmaceutical packaging with capsule sealing means will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1497618